Markets Continue to Play Patty-Cake with Rising Interest Rates; Inflation, Gas Prices, Iran Will Remain Unresolved Until Midterms

Wednesday didn't prove to be much better for those holding equity positions than the previous two days. Initially, the S&P and NASDAQ posted gains, but, as the day wore on, there was no further upside. At the very end of the session, in literally the last ten minutes, the S&P slipped into the red and the NASDAQ lost the vast majority of the day’s gains. The Dow spent almost the entire session in the red.

The market tried desperately to avoid the elephant in the room: the rapidly-rising interest rate yields on longer-dated treasury securities. By the end of the session, the reality of a 10-year note yield approaching 5.30% and the 30-year already having eclipsed 5.65% could hardly go unnoticed. The dumping of stocks at the close was one of the more unusual events in some time, especially considering that it was the end of the month and te quarter.

As Thursday rolls in, futures are, as usual, trending higher on virtually no news. This particular playbook - goosing futures into the open - seems to have a short shelf life. After a while, everybody begins to see right through it, set down their Zero-Day-to-Expiry options for the day and wait for the selling to begin. Friday might offer some insight with September Non-farm Payrolls announced prior to the open, but probably not.

Stocks continue to be wildly overvalued and the market a carnival led by barkers on TV and in government. All-time highs are close by, but the Dow is actually down 6.34% from its August 5 high. And, it's October.

The main issues for the U.S. and its economy haven't gone away. They're just being maintained as best as possible until the midterms. The fighting and bombings in Ukraine and Russia continue. The Middle East remains a powder keg. Inflation is still at unacceptable levels, housing continues to be completely unaffordable for any reasonable middle class family, and gas and diesel prices are through the roof.

It's a happy day in hell when all that matters is the election of some people whose main purpose in life is to get elected and re-elected and everything else is put on hold.

As the eminent Dr. Chris Martenson has opined at least a hundred times: "It doesn't have to be this way."

At the Close, Wednesday, September 30, 2026:
Dow: 50,906.05, -443.87 (-0.86%)
NASDAQ: 26,861.06, +63.52 (+0.24%)
S&P 500: 7,651.54, -19.30 (-0.25%)
NYSE Composite: 23,490.80, -218.80 (-0.92%)